Holiday Greetings from the Hellquists

We wish you Merry Christmas and send our best wishes for a wonderful New Year. We decided to send our greetings on our blog. Betty taught Marion how to create a blog while in Australia in February.

We still follow UNH hockey and travel to Durham, NH for home games. Our friends, Dick and Katy, provide us with a "B & B" so we don't have to drive home late at night. They are also avid hockey fans. We enjoy these weekend visits very much.

In February we went to Australia to stay with Betty and Surrey for three weeks. Surrey had been diagnosed with cancer two months earlier. He and Barre had unfinished work on their water-lily research, and spent much time writing the paper which named five new species. We enjoyed our time with their family and grandchildren, and the wonderful summer weather.

In early April we drove to Alexandria, VA to attend the NCAA Frozen Four hockey finals. We were pleased to stay with Barre's friend, Bruce and his wife Theresa for a few days. Bruce was able to join us for the hockey games and we also had time to visit some of the sights in Washington, DC. We stopped, on the way home, at Gettybrug, PA to tour the new Museum and Battlefield.

In June, Sasha and Elena, from Borok, near Yaroslavl, Russia came to visit for three weeks. Both are botanists working for the Russian Academy of Sciences. Sasha has been corresponding with Barre concerning pondweeds for four years. Barre drove them to many locations in New England and New York where plants of interest were collected. On the 4th of July we enjoyed a family picnic in NH with cousins and friends, followed by fireworks in the evening. The day before they flew home, we drove them to the top of Mt. Washington enjoying a sunny day, with a 70 mile view from the summit.

Elena, Sasha, and Marion at base of Mt. Washington


The last week of August we traveled west to the Universtiy of Michigan Biological Station where Eric had been teaching a botany course during the summer. We stayed for the weekend and then headed south to Texas to visit with Paul and family in September. Noel is now in kindergarten and we enjoyed our Grandparents day visit to her school. We went to the zoo, aquarium and an evening baseball game, all in Dallas, over the Labor Day weekend. We also got to watch Noel at her hockey lesson. Soon after arriving back home, cousins from Indiana were with us for a brief stay. We all enjoyed a drive to the top of Mt. Greylock, which is almost in our backyard, and a fantastic view of the autumn foliage.




Noel at hockey practice

In October we headed south to Barre's hometown of Summit, NJ where he renewed friendships with his high school classmates at their 50th reunion. The events were well organized and it was enjoyed by all. Barre and friends were able to tour the elementary school they attended, visiting all the rooms and reminiscing about their school days and teachers, sharing much laughter.



Davis VanWinkle, Bruce Craig, Barre, and Harry Snyder at front door of Franklin School

In late November, our dear friend, Surrey died peacefully. Betty's blog kept everyone in touch with him and the family throughout the year. We will miss Surrey, and have many wonderful memories. He and Barre have traveled, conducting fieldwork, throughout tropical Australia since 1997. We have now added Skype to our means of contact with Betty, and look forward to having her visit us in the future.

We keep busy around home and Barre continues to plant evergreen seedlings in the yard. He may have as many as 100 different trees! He still raises Australian tropical water-lilies in the greenhouse. Marion continues her quilting hobby, and is learning to crochet, thanks to friends who have helped her get started. She also regularly visits a new friend who returned two years ago to live near relatives in her home town of Cheshire. Bernice (Bennie) just happens to be the oldest citizen of Massachusetts at 110 years! She is as "sharp as a tack".

Whenever Eric can't have his dog 'Moose' at his summer work location we take care of him. Moose has been with us during three recent summers. Eric follows college hockey in his area of Oswego, NY. Paul and Michelle have lived in Texas for two years. Paul enjoys his job as computer game designer, and plays defense and goalie in a men's hockey league. Michelle has now become a parent volunteer at Noel's school, and takes care of a neighbor's two young children two days a week. She also sews quilts for the Linus project.

Best wishes to all. We are thinking of you.

Love, Marion and Barre

Noel at the rink, and at home

Noel has been learning to skate since she was three years old. She has lived in Texas for two years, and there are many ice rinks in the area. A new one was built and opened in McKinney almost in her "back yard" Since last Spring Noel has been taking hockey lessons, and is enjoying learning the skating skills needed to play. Though she has her stick with her, the lessons have not started to focus on moving the puck. She is wearing the shirt representing the University of New Hampshire, where she attended many games with her parents before moving.

This picture was taken about a month ago when Noel lost her first tooth! She is five and a half years old now.

Clearing the snow

After the snow fell overnight into Wednesday the 9th, Barre measured the snow depth before beginning to clear the driveway, and paths to the greenhouse, and back door of the garage. In metric we had 19.3 cm (8 inches) of snow.

The first snow of the season

This past weekend we were visiting friends in Durham, NH. The first snow storm of the season arrived on Saturday, and by Sunday morning there was a beautiful winter scene of snow covered trees, and yards. The sun was shining brightly as we left for home, and the white landscape was a lovely sight to behold. As we drove west, getting nearer Adams, we noticed the snowfall was decreasing, but the views of the mountains in Vermont were beautiful. Barre did not have to use the snowblower in the driveway because the snow had melted the approximate 2 inches. Durham had 6-7 inches.